Hay River residents are set to get a day off to mark the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30.
The Town of Hay River met in a special meeting of council to unanimously pass a motion to make September 30 a civic holiday, so everyone gets a day off.
When September 30 was first recognized, it was only government workers who would be getting a paid day off. But other workers won’t.
That’s because the NWT Employment Standards Act has not been amended to introduce the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation as an NWT-wide statutory holiday.
“The introduction of this holiday for the territory’s public service will be an opportunity to reflect on the legacy of the residential school system and its impacts on Indigenous people and communities across the territory and Canada,” Premier Caroline Cochrane said in a statement.
The territorial government allows municipalities to set a fixed number of civic holidays for its own residents every year.
The federal government is also recognizing the day, who announced it would be recognized as a statutory holiday back in June.
